Uber to invest more than $60 million in Sao Paulo support center

SAO PAULO – Ride-hailing service Uber inaugurated a support center in Brazil’s biggest city on Tuesday with plans to invest 200 million reais ($62 million) and create 2,000 jobs, underscoring an aggressive growth strategy in Latin America’s biggest nation.

The new facility in Sao Paulo may employ up to 7,000 people by the end of the year, providing technical support for around 9 million users in Brazil along with thousands of drivers, the company said in a statement.

Uber’s latest investment in Brazil comes just weeks after Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, announced it was investing more than $100 million in Brazilian company 99, an on-demand taxi and ride sharing service.

After a bruising battle in China, Uber agreed in August to sell its unit there to Didi, which is also investing $1 billion in San Francisco-based Uber Technologies in the deal.

Didi has also formed an alliance with Lyft in the United States, India’s ride service Ola and Southeast Asian startup Grab in an effort to compete with Uber’s global dominance. -Reuters